Contra Costa County prosecutors today moved to stack new murder counts on top of an already grim Walnut Creek case, alleging that resident Howard Wang and an accused hitman are tied to three killings scattered across California. Wang, already jailed since last year on separate Walnut Creek murder charges, now faces an expanded set of allegations that push the investigation well beyond the East Bay.
New filing connects San Gabriel killing to Walnut Creek case
Prosecutors say the latest charges include a murder count tied to a June 8, 2024, shooting in San Gabriel that left a man fatally wounded outside an apartment complex and later dead at a hospital, according to MyNewsLA. Charging documents allege Wang conspired with the suspected shooter in that attack, effectively folding the San Gabriel homicide into the Walnut Creek case.
Inside the Walnut Creek double killing
The Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office previously charged Wang after investigators found his wife, Linlin Guo, and her mother, Beimin Cheng, dead at a home in the 100 block of Kelobra Court on Sept. 18, 2025, according to the county’s press release. Those charging papers list special-circumstance allegations that, if proved, could make Wang eligible for a sentence of life without parole. Local reporting notes the couple’s eight-year-old twin daughters were inside the home at the time and were placed in protective custody after authorities made arrests.
Mistress accused of breaking in and wiping evidence
Authorities later arrested an Oakland woman identified by prosecutors as Yan Wang on accessory charges, accusing her of breaking into the Kelobra Courthouse to remove and destroy items that included cellphones, ABC7 reported. The DA’s office alleges those actions amounted to concealing evidence and obstructing the investigation. Prosecutors say she had knowledge of the killings and that what she allegedly did afterward is now part of the larger charging strategy.
Alleged hitman tracked down and brought to the Bay Area
Prosecutors contend that 33-year-old Demarques Peal carried out the San Gabriel shooting and say he has since been arrested and extradited to Contra Costa County to face murder and conspiracy counts, according to The Mercury News. Local reporting from the June 2024 San Gabriel scene described police taping off an area near a motel and the victim being transported to a hospital, SGV CityWatch reported. Prosecutors now say evidence from that case feeds directly into the Walnut Creek murder file.
What the upgraded charges could mean
Court filings in the Walnut Creek matter outline multiple felony counts and enhancements. Special-circumstance murder allegations can carry potential life terms without parole, according to the public charging documents. The DA’s office has described the situation as a string of interrelated violent crimes spanning several jurisdictions, a setup that tends to complicate discovery, witness work and trial scheduling. Defense attorneys often challenge the prosecution’s efforts to link separate incidents during arraignments and in pretrial motions, and that is likely to be a key battleground here…